Look Who is Promoting the Vibro-Belt…

It is so appealing to think that there is an easy fix to weight gain. Even experts get caught up in this belief. The fact is, the best ‘magic bullet’ fixes can only produce minute increases in weight loss. Truly minor improvements to fat burning or calorie reductions, yet we spend significant portions of our life arguing over this minutia. This national obsession with pills and machines could be seen as insanity if it weren’t for the fact that there is a good reason all of these items are at the forefront of our discussions. Money. Our economic and social condition is such that marketing useless products is the apex of our combined skills. From invention (I use that term loosely), to manufacturing abroad to marketing, we are masters at selling new items, but the problem of course is that there are no new items to sell… We can identify a massive market segment that has money and is motivated, we can create commercials that offer them impossible benefits and they will buy, but we actually have not found a product that will actually do anything of value. That won’t stop them of course, which brings us to:

The Vibro Belt

I honestly thought we were done with these items. I can say without a shadow of doubt that this is a nearly useless item that will do nothing to help you get a six pack or a toned ass. The ad on the website says that you can look like this, while showing a guy with rock hard, six pack abs, with the vibro-belt professional toning system*. Through out the ad it tells you it will tone, firm and strengthen, your upper, middle lower abs and obliques, as well as your thighs, hips, back and buns*. The fact is, if we found the model with the six-pack abs, there is not one chance in 1,000,000,000 that he used the vibro-belt to get those abs.

Just wear the vibro-belt while you are working, cooking and cleaning*. Nothing could be more convenient.

*’Vibrobelt System requires use of Nutirtion Guide and Walk IT OFF CD to obtain best results’

In fact, they go so far as to tell you to stop struggling with hard to use exercise equipment…. Seriously people… have we gotten so pathetic??!?! They think we have. They think that we can’t even manage to lift a weight, as that process is beyond our skill level. I am honestly sickened by this statement.

The science

There are apparently 3 types of belts.

Vibrating,

Heating/Sauna Belts

Electrical stimulation belts.

There is no science on the first 2 types of belts. That includes this ridiculous device. The 3rd type, the electrical stimulation belts can achieve some results. A proper electrical stimulation device can produce an increase in abdominal strength and endurance, but they have no impact on weight loss. The results aren’t very impressive. In the attached study which has showed the best results for one of these devices, the study group who used the device for 2 solid months improved their curl ups by 100% (and the control group improved by 28%). Think about this for a moment. The belt only helped them to double their curl ups. If you did sit ups or crunches once a week for 2 months you would be able to do a lot more than double your curl ups in 2 months (if you don’t do those types of exercises now). The control group improved by 28%!! It is theorized that they had this improvement just from doing curl ups 3 times in the 8 weeks!! In essence what I am saying is that the least amount of working out shows much bigger improvements than even the most effective belts. There are other problems with EMS belts. According to Livestrong.com

Electrical signals are unable to penetrate through deep fat layers, making even effective belts useless if you are very overweight or obese. Studies tested participants with body mass indexes of 30 or less. Also, the Food and Drug Administration has received complaints concerning burns, bruising and skin irritation from using ab belts. These products can also interfere with defibrillators or pacemakers. If you use a heart device, do not use an abdominal belt.

There is science on whole body vibration in conjunction with training. The results show that there are actual increases in many positive outcomes. You can read a summary here. Note that there is no evidence of weight loss with vibration technologies and they have been in existence since the steam engine. Summary here.

So, we are now all up to speed on what pieces of crap these are. Still, if you want to buy them, you can buy them out of the back of the factory for only $33.00. Check here.

Why I am Really Pissed

Obviously you and I both know that these ‘slimming belts’ are crap and there is little to no evidence of actual slimming. Certainly when compared to real life exercise, the fare terribly, embarrassingly. You knew that before you even saw my review and quite honestly so did I. That isn’t the purpose of this entry. Why I am upset is that I received an offer to buy this belt from none other than EverydayHealth.com. Many of you, I would daresay, most of you have come into contact with Everyday Health (they claim to reach 28.9% of the health audience, more than 28 million unique monthly visitors). They are a ‘leading’ provider of online health information (Although I should have put the quotes on health information, but both leading and health information are highly questionable). They have acquired (or launched) many of the branded health sites on the internet. For example, if you thought that say, JillianMichaels.com was her website, you would have been wrong. It is an Everyday Health Product. She either sold it or never owned it, just licensing her name. I could care less which is true, but I do care that to me, this shows a genuine lack of care for you the health consumer and a genuine concern over her wealth. Now, they don’t just own Jillian Michaels website, they also own, Joy Bauer, Dr. Laura Berman, Denise Austin, Ellie Krieger, The South Beach Diet, The Sonoma Diet, Suzanne Somers diet and dozens of other sites. They put out a newsletter, which is remarkably impressive given the diverse opinions of the websites that they control. Should they put out information about hormone therapies, organic foods or exercise or all of the above… You can find the complete link of websites here.

This may not offend you, but think about it. What if you were reading my website and trusting my opinions and later on you find that I have sold my opinions, my entire site to a company that sold, let’s say weight loss belts. Of course, my entries would have changed (after all, a company owns my website, I may not even have editorial control over it any longer. I may not even know what is being posted), but you wouldn’t know all of this. How many people out there know that Jillian Michaels doesn’t even own her own website. Do you feel betrayed? I know I would if I had expected any integrity from her.

In any case, look at the advertising and marketing programs these people offer. It almost seems like they are better at marketing than they are at health… Not only do you have the myriad of marketing programs, you also have access to insider information. Want to know how people use calorie counting tools? Pdf right here, or my favorite, Delivering a Mom: How Today’s New Moms Learn, Decide and Buy! This is awesome information that they gleaned from their users. What I love most about their corporate website is that the 4 executives mentioned on the page include the 2 co-founders and the EVP, Sales, Scott Wolf and SVP, Sales, PR and Corporate Branding, Laura Klein. This group definitely knows what is important. Neither of the 2 founders are involved in the health side of the business either.

Still, there is nothing wrong with a health conglomerate, and make no mistake, this is a business and as such, having business people in charge is probably wise. Unfortunately, there really isn’t a lot to sell to be fit and healthy. Branding is clearly the winning method that they are employing, but free sites that earn revenue by advertising seem quite popular too.

The Crux of the Issue

The problem with all of this is quite simple. You would have trusted Jillian Michaels website because you trust Jillian Michaels (A mistake I once made myself). Buy why would you trust Jillian Michaels website when she doesn’t even own it and her involvement is unknown? Furthermore, why would you trust Everyday Health at all. What makes you think that they know anything about health or care about your health. They appear to be a corporation that cares only about money. It isn’t fair to say that all corporations care only about money, so you might think that it isn’t fair for me to say that this one is a greedy corporation that cares more about how much money it can get from you than it does about how it can help you, but you would be wrong.

How do I know you would be wrong? Do you remember that Image of the Vibro-Belt that I showed at the beginning of the article? Well, that image came with an offer from Everday Health. This message was simply embedded into an email newsletter.

When you click on this link you get taken to Health Deals. You see, Everday Health has launched a new newsletter a la Groupon. They appear to have a targeted and featured deal/coupon mail out called Health Deals, Living Well for Less. You can sign up, put in your location and be mailed Deals just like Groupon, only for health. What did they choose as a health product? Why, they chose a 50% off coupon for the Vibrating Muscle Toning Belt. They like it so much they have even given it the green stamp of ‘Great for Fitness Revolution’ seal of approval. I have no idea what that means, but I bet it costs a little more…

In the description supplied by EVERYDAY HEALTH, are included the following 4 claims which I would say are all at the most bald faced lies, but are, at the very least, in no way proven:

The Vibro-Belt utilizes a unique, oscillating massage action to effectively and quickly tone up the muscles in your body.

It’s the smart and easy way to get the body you want from the comfort of your own home!

The best part is that you only need to use your belt for 10-minutes a day to help you get the toned muscles of your dreams!

So, put an end to the winter gluttony and start getting a rock-hard body with Vibro-Belt for just minutes a day!

Conclusion

Some people are wrong about fitness. Some people think that you can supplement your way to health or cleanse yourself to the body of your dreams. Some people really believe this. They are wrong, but they truly believe this. They are generally on track with the bulk of their beliefs but have some weird and hence highly publicized ‘angle’ that makes them unique (and subsequently wrong). These people at least mean well. They are bad, but they aren’t the worst.

When they give you some improper advice, they believe it and they live it. The bigger problem is the people who are selling you things they wouldn’t use and ideas they don’t believe in. Here is the owner of Jillian Michaels website selling you a Vibration belt!!?!?! Think about that. You are offered the opportunity to get the newsletter from Everday Health when you sign up on Jillian Michaels website.

If a company is willing to sell you a sketchy product you cannot trust them. Not at all and not in anything they say afterwards. These people aren’t wrong with what they think will help you, but instead they have chosen their pocketbook over your health. Those are not the people you want to rely on. Exercise and eating well will be the cornerstones to your good health. You need to learn what those truly mean and find ways to incorporate them into your life. That is the help you need, not a company that will send out coupons for infomercial products. What next, a half price Ab Circle Pro…

Search YouAreNotAFitPerson.com:

You Are Not A Fit Person: The Book

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The Author: Mark Vaughan

About You Are Not A Fit Person

Fit people are totally different from us unfit people. They don’t know the problems we face, the temptations that we have. Fit People need to exercise or they feel bad. They don’t like fast food, or cake, or potato chips. They go to bed early and are the first to leave the party.
They aren’t us. These people are fit people through and through and they are sharing their fit routines, thinking that is what we need. We don’t need their routines. We need our own.
Here is where you will find information on how to develop your own routine, one that will finally work for you while accepting and possibly even embracing your appetite for life.